AfD North Rhine‑Westphalia faces internal battle over candidate list

The AfD’s North Rhine‑Westphalia (NRW) state party, led by Martin Vincentz, is locked in a power struggle with the federal leadership of Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla. The federal board has demanded that the ongoing party congress in Marl be halted and that the entire candidate list for the 2027 state election be restarted, citing alleged threats, pressure on delegates and “sabotage attempts” by a faction using a coordinated “Operation Filibuster” to block decisions.

Vincentz rejected the demand, arguing that the state board has no legal authority to end a congress already in progress and warning that aborting the event could repeat the 2023 Bremen debacle, where the AfD was barred from the state election. He accused the federal board of trying to impose a list favorable to its own faction and pointed to internal chat groups, involving figures such as Sven Tritschler and Maximilian Kneller, that he says are orchestrating the filibuster. The congress has become chaotic, with dozens of candidates vying for lower‑list positions and lengthy speeches stalling the process.

The dispute threatens the legitimacy of the NRW list, which could be rejected by the state election authority if procedural violations are confirmed. Both sides have called for mediation, but Vincentz has dismissed the proposed mediator as biased. The outcome will influence the AfD’s prospects in the upcoming state election, where it hopes to secure a sizable parliamentary group.